Talk show host Montel Williams recently disclosed that he has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a debilitating neurological disorder that has no cure. Willams, whose nationally syndicated show has been on the air for eight seasons, vows to continue taping the show and is researching the use of recently approved drug therapies. To send get-well cards or letters of encouragement to Montel Williams write: Montel Williams, 433 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019. The Answer Desk column is moving to the comics page starting Monday.

Talk is cheap, and many talk show hosts prefer it that way, parading a steady stream of bottom-feeders before television viewers. Montel Williams takes a different approach. He isn't above building a show around a psychic or a crime victim. But his aim is always to explore how people relate to each other or to search for solutions to society's nagging problems. And the longevity of his program suggests that the public is responding to his message. "A lot of what we're doing has been slimed down by other shows," said Williams.

Reporters come and go but a well-read column always has a home. Starting today, I will write Broadcast News, a weekly look at the goings-on in the radio and TV industry in our area. If you have any tips or think something needs looking at, write me in care of Lifestyles, MP 1203, Daily Press, PO Box 746, Newport News, 23607, or call 247-4794. TOO LITTLE, TOO MUCH? Phone lines lit up at WVEC-TV Channel 13 Friday morning with irate viewers calling to complain after the station pulled "Montel Williams" off the air in mid-show.

Their first web site landed them in jail, then on national television. It featured Tenaya Kiser smiling coyly, stretched out on a bed and wearing lingerie. It spelled out how to make an appointment with her for some "adult fun." And it listed her rates: $150 for an hour and $75 for a half-hour. When police finally raided Kiser's Hampton home last year, they found her with a "client." Her two small children were sleeping in another bedroom. Police arrested Kiser and her husband, Thomas Kiser, who was running the Web site and serving as his wife's manager.

Heather Powell and her friends don't usually hang out in the Western Sizzlin in Ordinary: It's not exactly cool to be seen at a place best known for serving up rolls and steaks. But the Gloucester High School student and her friends were there beside the salad bar Thursday afternoon, waiting for nationally syndicated talk-show host Montel Williams. Williams, a former motivational speaker and naval intelligence officer, gathered about 30 teen-agers and adults in the restaurant's back room for what was billed as a town meeting on teen-agers who kill their parents.

Talk is cheap, and many talk show hosts prefer it that way, parading a steady stream of bottom-feeders before television viewers. Montel Williams takes a different approach. He isn't above building a show around a psychic or a crime victim. But his aim is always to explore how people relate to each other or to search for solutions to society's nagging problems. And the longevity of his program suggests that the public is responding to his message. "A lot of what we're doing has been slimed down by other shows," said Williams.

FITZ TO FIGHT. So how serious is former NN vice mayor Bill Fitzgerald about that state Senate seat being vacated by Bobby Scott ? Very, apparently. Fitzgerald has rented a place in Denbigh to establish residency in the district. He's hired political consultant Howard Burkholz, a Virginia Beach strategist whose tough tactics have produced winning campaigns. And Sandy Canada, wife of former state Sen. Joe Canada and legislative aide for Sen. Ken Stolle, is said to be doing fund-raising for Fitzgerald.

When I met him, Montel Williams was sitting in an office at the Daily Press' Gloucester Bureau getting his head "de-glared." That's his word, not mine. "I'll be ready in a minute," he said, as his wife patted make-up on his clean-shaven scalp so it wouldn't reflect the lights set up in the conference room next door. "I just have to get my head de-glared. I'm looking forward to this." So was I. I had never been interviewed by a celebrity talk show host, never appeared on national television as I will when Williams' program on teen violence airs on Nov. 18. I was eager to get rolling.

Despite the hectic February ratings month, talk host Montel Williams made time to jet into Hampton Roads for the day on Monday. Williams met with reporters, appeared on air and recorded promos for his weekday show, which airs at 4 p.m. on WAVY-TV, Channel 10, and 10 p.m. on WVBT-TV, Channel 43. During the noon hour, the energetic Williams also autographed more than 300 copies of his book, ""Mountain, Get Out of My Way," at the Barnes &...

After more than seven years on the WWDE-FM (101.3) popular morning show, "Breakfast Bunch," Laura Coffey has left the station. Coffey will be devoting more time to an expanding career in television commercial work, she said. Another benefit to not having to get up at 4 a.m.: She'll have more time to spend with her 10-year-old daughter. Still, she's sorry about leaving her "mostly grown-up" co-hosts: Dick Lamb, Paul Richardson and Carlton Shrieves. "We had a very unique chemistry," said Coffey.

Talk show host Montel Williams recently disclosed that he has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a debilitating neurological disorder that has no cure. Willams, whose nationally syndicated show has been on the air for eight seasons, vows to continue taping the show and is researching the use of recently approved drug therapies. To send get-well cards or letters of encouragement to Montel Williams write: Montel Williams, 433 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019. The Answer Desk column is moving to the comics page starting Monday.

Despite the hectic February ratings month, talk host Montel Williams made time to jet into Hampton Roads for the day on Monday. Williams met with reporters, appeared on air and recorded promos for his weekday show, which airs at 4 p.m. on WAVY-TV, Channel 10, and 10 p.m. on WVBT-TV, Channel 43. During the noon hour, the energetic Williams also autographed more than 300 copies of his book, ""Mountain, Get Out of My Way," at the Barnes &...

After more than seven years on the WWDE-FM (101.3) popular morning show, "Breakfast Bunch," Laura Coffey has left the station. Coffey will be devoting more time to an expanding career in television commercial work, she said. Another benefit to not having to get up at 4 a.m.: She'll have more time to spend with her 10-year-old daughter. Still, she's sorry about leaving her "mostly grown-up" co-hosts: Dick Lamb, Paul Richardson and Carlton Shrieves. "We had a very unique chemistry," said Coffey.

Time moved slowly Thursday afternoon at Harbor Park for 24 members of the Norfolk Tides. Eight or nine players camped out on couches in front of the television set in the dressing room, watching everything from "The Brady Bunch" and "Punky Brewster" to "Talk Soup", Rikki Lake and Montel Williams. Four players fell asleep on tables in the trainer's room, several went for walks around the nearly deserted stadium, others lined up to use the telephone. And there was the inevitable poker game.

When I met him, Montel Williams was sitting in an office at the Daily Press' Gloucester Bureau getting his head "de-glared." That's his word, not mine. "I'll be ready in a minute," he said, as his wife patted make-up on his clean-shaven scalp so it wouldn't reflect the lights set up in the conference room next door. "I just have to get my head de-glared. I'm looking forward to this." So was I. I had never been interviewed by a celebrity talk show host, never appeared on national television as I will when Williams' program on teen violence airs on Nov. 18. I was eager to get rolling.

FITZ TO FIGHT. So how serious is former NN vice mayor Bill Fitzgerald about that state Senate seat being vacated by Bobby Scott ? Very, apparently. Fitzgerald has rented a place in Denbigh to establish residency in the district. He's hired political consultant Howard Burkholz, a Virginia Beach strategist whose tough tactics have produced winning campaigns. And Sandy Canada, wife of former state Sen. Joe Canada and legislative aide for Sen. Ken Stolle, is said to be doing fund-raising for Fitzgerald.

Their first web site landed them in jail, then on national television. It featured Tenaya Kiser smiling coyly, stretched out on a bed and wearing lingerie. It spelled out how to make an appointment with her for some "adult fun." And it listed her rates: $150 for an hour and $75 for a half-hour. When police finally raided Kiser's Hampton home last year, they found her with a "client." Her two small children were sleeping in another bedroom. Police arrested Kiser and her husband, Thomas Kiser, who was running the Web site and serving as his wife's manager.

Time moved slowly Thursday afternoon at Harbor Park for 24 members of the Norfolk Tides. Eight or nine players camped out on couches in front of the television set in the dressing room, watching everything from "The Brady Bunch" and "Punky Brewster" to "Talk Soup", Rikki Lake and Montel Williams. Four players fell asleep on tables in the trainer's room, several went for walks around the nearly deserted stadium, others lined up to use the telephone. And there was the inevitable poker game.

Heather Powell and her friends don't usually hang out in the Western Sizzlin in Ordinary: It's not exactly cool to be seen at a place best known for serving up rolls and steaks. But the Gloucester High School student and her friends were there beside the salad bar Thursday afternoon, waiting for nationally syndicated talk-show host Montel Williams. Williams, a former motivational speaker and naval intelligence officer, gathered about 30 teen-agers and adults in the restaurant's back room for what was billed as a town meeting on teen-agers who kill their parents.

Reporters come and go but a well-read column always has a home. Starting today, I will write Broadcast News, a weekly look at the goings-on in the radio and TV industry in our area. If you have any tips or think something needs looking at, write me in care of Lifestyles, MP 1203, Daily Press, PO Box 746, Newport News, 23607, or call 247-4794. TOO LITTLE, TOO MUCH? Phone lines lit up at WVEC-TV Channel 13 Friday morning with irate viewers calling to complain after the station pulled "Montel Williams" off the air in mid-show.